An elegant right-hand batsman, Alex Doolan has made the No.3 position his own with Tasmania over the past few seasons and in doing so has placed himself firmly in contention for international honours. The innings that brought him wider public attention was his unbeaten 161 for Australia A against the touring South Africans in November 2012, and his work against Dale Steyn and Vernon Philander meant Doolan featured in discussions about who would replace the retiring Ricky Ponting in the Test team. His opportunity did not come, but Doolan finished that summer fourth on the Sheffield Shield tally with 715 runs at 42.05, improving on his leaner 2011-12. His first two centuries came during the 2009-10 season, when he made 642 runs, and a solid aggregate over a number of summers has moved him to the fringes of the Test side. An assiduous studier of Ricky Ponting's game during his appearances for Tasmania, Doolan shared two century stands with Ponting in 2012-13 and learnt much from the former Test captain. The son of the former Tasmania wicketkeeper and opening batsman Bruce Doolan, away from the game he has previously worked in a travel agency.ESPNcricinfo staff